My foodie road dog, Willie and I decided to have Brunch at Essex. I rarely travel below Houston St., so I was looking forward to this trip to the L to the E to the S!
I knew in advance to make a reservation. So I went to handy dandy opentable to make a reservation. Even though I secured a reservation I knew I would still have to wait. So be forewarned - a reservation will get you in, but not necessarily at the time you booked. If you have after Brunch plans, please be sure to manage your time wisely.
Essex’s entrance is located on Rivington St., despite an Essex St. address. This entrance was formally the northern entrance to the Essex Street Market. Once you turn the corner onto Rivington, you know you’ve arrived, as you’ll be met by a swarm of people waiting to be seated.
I knew in advance to make a reservation. So I went to handy dandy opentable to make a reservation. Even though I secured a reservation I knew I would still have to wait. So be forewarned - a reservation will get you in, but not necessarily at the time you booked. If you have after Brunch plans, please be sure to manage your time wisely.
Essex’s entrance is located on Rivington St., despite an Essex St. address. This entrance was formally the northern entrance to the Essex Street Market. Once you turn the corner onto Rivington, you know you’ve arrived, as you’ll be met by a swarm of people waiting to be seated.
Once inside, I fought my way to the hostess stand, in the middle of the restaurant, and was told it would be another 10/15 min. Not bad as I expected a minimum of one hour.
Opposite the bar is the “tennis ball” art piece, which I fail to “get”. I’m pretty quick and usually get modern art, but I need translation for this piece. This piece looks like a double fault to me!
We’re seated at a table on the rear dining loft. Even though noise rises, I feel the loft spaces are not as loud as the lower level. Our Server Cat (who might I add was fab-u-lous) greets us and gives us the rundown on how brunch works. Before we had to time to thank her, two mimosas appeared, hey it doesn’t hurt to sit next to the bar.
Willie ordered the Eggs Benedict and I ordered a salad, one egg over easy, a side of chicken apple sausage and an order of plain pancakes. My salad arrived, it was nice light and refreshing.
While awaiting our entrees we struck up a convo with the ladies next to us. One ordered the Mexican scramble, and claimed it is super popular. The other order the French Toast and for a minute I wondered if I made a mistake as the French Toast looked sooooo fluffy and light. She said that the French Toast was really good, but the sauce was way too sweet for her taste.
Our entree's arrived, sans the egg and sausage. A few minutes later the sausage arrive. About five minutes later a rock hard fried egg appeared and was quickly sent back. The egg returned and finally I just told our server to take it off the menu. How can you not prepare an egg over easy??
The Eggs Benedict smelled wonderful and my pancakes were huge, light and fluffy. They get a solid 9. If the butter was softer and syrup warm, they would have received a perfect 10. I was underwhelmed by the chicken Apple Sausage, as I've had better.
Overall this is a nice spot and despite the minor snafu's the food is solid and very good portions for the price. I would head here again as I like the fast paced energy and free cocktails. If you're looking for a laid back brunch spot, this is not the place.
Please note Brunch is CA$H only!
Essex
120 Essex Street (at the corner of Rivington St)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 533-9616
www.essexnyc.com
While awaiting our entrees we struck up a convo with the ladies next to us. One ordered the Mexican scramble, and claimed it is super popular. The other order the French Toast and for a minute I wondered if I made a mistake as the French Toast looked sooooo fluffy and light. She said that the French Toast was really good, but the sauce was way too sweet for her taste.
Our entree's arrived, sans the egg and sausage. A few minutes later the sausage arrive. About five minutes later a rock hard fried egg appeared and was quickly sent back. The egg returned and finally I just told our server to take it off the menu. How can you not prepare an egg over easy??
The Eggs Benedict smelled wonderful and my pancakes were huge, light and fluffy. They get a solid 9. If the butter was softer and syrup warm, they would have received a perfect 10. I was underwhelmed by the chicken Apple Sausage, as I've had better.
Overall this is a nice spot and despite the minor snafu's the food is solid and very good portions for the price. I would head here again as I like the fast paced energy and free cocktails. If you're looking for a laid back brunch spot, this is not the place.
Please note Brunch is CA$H only!
Essex
120 Essex Street (at the corner of Rivington St)
New York, NY 10002
(212) 533-9616
www.essexnyc.com
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